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Scuderia AlphaTauri has announced a new partnership with ICM.com, a UK-based global multi-regulated financial service provider and confirmed Fantom – a leading smart contract platform – as an Official Team Partner.
ICM.com is an international online Foreign Exchange (FOREX) and CFD trading firm that operates globally. The new relationship, which began at the iconic Monaco Grand Prix, is the first year of an exciting venture for the two outfits that wish to continue to develop a strong partnership for many years to come.
The partnership with Scuderia AlphaTauri will accelerate the global brand awareness strategy of ICM.com through marketing campaigns across the team’s social and digital platforms. Furthermore, prominent branding will feature on a variety of team collateral; with both drivers displaying the logo on their race apparel and team kit, as well as further brand visibility throughout the garage environment and on the AT02.
Commenting on the announcement of the new partnership, Team Principal Franz Tost said: “I’m pleased to announce this exciting partnership with ICM.com who, like Scuderia AlphaTauri, operates on a global scale every day. As a team that competes in an international championship, we are exposed to FOREX transactions daily, which is one of the core competencies of the ICM.com business. It’s great to welcome such a future-oriented company to our team and we look forward to building a strong relationship together this season.”
“We are excited to enter the world of Formula One with this team partnership – the highest class of single-seater racing, distinguishable by its otherworldly-looking cars and phenomenal speeds, added Shoaib Abedi, Founder and CEO of ICM.com.
“With a cumulative audience of almost 2 billion television viewers and a highly engaged fan base, the partnership with Scuderia AlphaTauri will add significant value to ICM’s brand awareness strategy. With races in 23 countries Formula 1 is a truly global platform, aligning with ICM’s global vision which currently covers over 20 countries,” he said.
Furthermore, the Faenza-based team entered into a partnership with Fantom, which is a global blockchain platform designed for instant transactions with low costs and is revolutionising the user experience.
Setting the groundwork for a digital financial system, Fantom focusses heavily on eco-friendly technology and has dramatically reduced the energy consumed in the blockchain process. Holding a similar high-tech driven philosophy to Motorsport that regularly disseminates its innovation into the real-world, Fantom also sees real-life applications of its platform in industries such as pharmaceuticals and education.
This partnership will allow Fantom to utilise the team’s established platform to continue its staggering growth on a global scale, with the logo visible on the top of the halo of the AT02 at both the Monaco and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix. Furthermore, Pierre Gasly will continue his Brand Ambassador role with Fantom, displaying the logo on his cap throughout the season.
“This is another great partnership for Scuderia AlphaTauri and I’m happy to welcome Fantom on-board.” commented Tost. “As a team working at the pinnacle of motorsport, we’re always interested in new, innovative technologies and Fantom shares with us a constant hunger for success, which put them at the forefront of the blockchain industry, while operating sustainably.
“We are pleased to support their continuing growth on a global scale and I look forward to seeing the Fantom logo displayed on our cars as we race through the streets of Monaco,” the Austrian concluded.
Harry Yeh, Quantum Fintech Group Managing Director said: “We are extremely excited about this partnership. Fantom’s technology is incredibly fast but at the same time it is following a green and eco-friendly approach, which aligns perfectly with the Scuderia AlphaTauri F1 team and with the ambitious sustainability strategy of the sport.
“I haven’t been this bullish about a tech start-up investment as I am with Fantom. We want to continue to attract even more people globally to the platform through this partnership.”


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Nike's Huarache model has returned this year in a big way. After debuting nearly 25 years ago, the Tinker Hatfield-designed sneaker still continues to hold its own as one of the popular styles from the Swoosh. From the low-profile and original Air Huarache to mid-top styles like the Air Trainer Huarache, the sneaker has an interesting story behind it with an unlikely source of inspiration. Sole Collector examines the Huarache in the video above and breaks down everything you should know.
[via Sole Collector]

domain: news


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Yesterday was a big day for consumer justice!
Just 24 hours after we launched the #BoycottSherwinWilliams boycott, the paint company decided to pull its deceptive ballot initiative to erase its liability for poisoning families with lead in its paint.
Add that victory to the signing of yesterday’s online California consumer privacy law and June 28th 2018 will go down in history as a monumental day for consumer rights.
We at Consumer Watchdog thank everyone who spread the word about the boycott, in particular our Rage For Justice Awardees Jane O’Meara Sanders, RoseAnn DeMoro, and Robert Greenwald, and Ralph Nader. The effort shows that a few people can make a big difference in a short time.
The company and its CEO obviously felt the pressure. It got nothing from the legislature in exchange for the withdrawal of the ballot measure except an agreement to work together.
You can watch the KPIX-TV story about the victory here.
PS: You can learn more about both victories from our weekly podcast interview with syndicated talk show host Norm Goldman, taped yesterday before we knew the outcomes.


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Greenlight’s report used industry data to classify 540 of the most popular search terms used by UK consumers to find providers of savings, credit and debit cards, mortgages and loans, online.
Mortgage-related terms accounted for a 58% share – 3.2 million searches of the 540 most popular search terms which Greenlight identified.
They also made up eight of the top 10 most searched for keywords.
According to Greenlight, this is a considerable rise on October’s 2.4 million searches for such products.
With 673,000 queries and accounting for 21% of mortgage product-related searches in January, ‘Mortgage calculator’was the term most searched for by consumers. ‘Mortgages’followed with 11% then ‘Buy to let mortgages’and‘Compare mortgages’with 9% of the search volume each.
Cumulatively financial services delivered a combined total of 5.6 million searches in January 2010, an increase of 1.3 million on October 2009 search volume.
Greenlight determined the top 60 best positioned, and hence the most visible websites to UK consumers, in the retail banking sector, in natural search and paid search.
In natural search, MoneySupermarket was the most visible website overall, followed by Halifax and Fool. There were also some notable movers up the ranks since Greenlight’s last report in October 2009. Woolwich for example, increased its share by 13%, ascending Greenlight’s league table and leaping from position 39 to five.
Likewise MoneyFacts. It attained position 6 in January having previously been 26th. NatWest also made notable strides having previously ranked at position 59, moving to up to 22.
In paid search, Moneysupermarket was again the most visible across the board achieving a 70% share of voice. ING Direct followed with 45% then NatWest with 32%.
Through working with retail banking clients, Greenlight’s research has found that most retail banking-related search queries are performed at the beginning of the week, from Monday to Wednesday. Interestingly, the report showed that advertisers underestimated the importance of bidding on Monday, yet overestimated the importance of the weekend.


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Plant-based meat solution provider Beyond Meat is launching an alternative to seared steak tips packed with nutritional and environmental benefits.
Dubbed Beyond Steak, the new offering can be found at Kroger and Walmart stores nationwide, as well as at select Albertsons and Ahold divisions and other retailers across the country.
“Beyond Steak is a highly-anticipated expansion of our popular beef platform and we’re proud to introduce this innovative product to consumers nationwide,” said Dariush Ajami, chief innovation officer at Beyond Meat. “Beyond Steak delivers the taste and texture of sliced steak in a way that is better for both people and the planet.”
The launch aims to expand its portfolio of options that all offer consumers the ability to eat the foods they love without compromising on taste, nutrition, or sustainability.
The announcement also follows recent headlines the company’s Chief Operating Officer Doug Ramsey made in September 2022 when he was arrested for biting a man’s nose after a college football game in Arkansas.
Ramsey was charged with terroristic threatening and third-degree battery and booked in the Washington County jail on Saturday evening but was later released, according to the Washington County, Arkansas.
Before joining the vegan consumer-packed-goods (CPG) brand back in December 2021, Ramsey worked for Tyson Foods.
Photo credit: Beyond Meat


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Netflix Inc. broke the cable-TV bundle. Now it’s time to put it back together again, and cable giants like Comcast Corp. look eager to help.
It’s true that streaming has created more choices for consumers. You don’t necessarily need to subscribe to a $100-a-month cable package just to access kid-friendly Disney programs or re-runs of “The Big Bang Theory” (or pay extra for the ability to DVR the episodes you’ll miss). There are on-demand apps for both of those now — Disney+, which launched on Tuesday, and HBO Max, which becomes available in May.
At the same time, one major consequence of the streaming wars is that they’ve caused a new kind of consumer frustration. It feels like everything is becoming segregated across various services with their own individual paywalls. That requires knowing which TV programs and movies reside where, having to toggle among those different apps — which isn’t as smooth as simply channel-surfing — and managing multiple monthly subscriptions. Sign up for enough of them, and it can easily add up to the cost of good old cable, especially given that a strong internet connection is a necessary component.
It’s a situation that’s unsustainable, and already the media and cable giants seem to be eyeing the reintroduction of bundles to make things easier on consumers (and to make their subscriptions stickier).
As Comcast’s Matthew Strauss put it, 'The great un-bundling could give birth to the great re-bundling.” He should know. Strauss is the former executive vice president of Comcast's Xfinity Services; he was recently put in charge of Peacock, the company’s own streaming product set to launch in April with content provided by its NBCUniversal sports and entertainment division. It will join Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max and many more in the new streaming marketplace.
'How could someone possibly navigate all these apps? That's not how you watch TV,” Strauss said in a phone interview in September. “My prediction is that we're going to come full circle.'
Strauss and I were on the topic because Comcast had just made something called Xfinity Flex free to customers who subscribe to the company’s internet services but not its cable-TV packages. Flex is essentially a dashboard where users can access streaming subscriptions. It’s a lot like the home screen shown when powering up a Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV Stick — a display of tiles teasing different programs or services. The Xfinity X1 cable service is still front and center for Comcast, but Flex is a sign that the company is at least exploring how to cater to what may some day be a mostly internet-only customer base. While it may not be a bundle, it’s not hard to make the leap and envision a day when Comcast tries to offer bundles of streaming apps to its internet subscribers, serving as the go-between for programmers and customers just like it does in the cable world.
Walt Disney Co. is already providing some evidence that it’s thinking the same way. As I noted in my column Tuesday, the entertainment giant recognizes that many viewers want more than a single app dedicated to superhero flicks and G-rated content. That’s why, alongside the launch of Disney+, it also began offering a $13-a-month bundle that tacks on Hulu and ESPN+. While Apple Inc.’s own original works such as “The Morning Show” can be watched with an Apple TV+ subscription, the company also has separately taken to aggregating rival apps in Apple TV Channels, where users can sign up on an a-la-carte basis. Similarly, Amazon.com Inc. has Prime Video and Amazon Channels. These aggregation efforts could all be precursors to bundling.
Charter Communications Inc. CEO Tom Rutledge, during a September investor conference, discussed the challenges for so-called direct-to-consumer businesses — such as Disney+, CBS All Access, and so on — that traditionally haven’t had to deal directly with subscribers because the cable giants had typically maintained those relationships. Suddenly, programmers are having to handle billing and service issues and come up with customer-retention strategies. (Disney got a taste of this Tuesday, when its brand-new app was hit by technological glitches.) “All of those activities we do on behalf of traditional pay-TV vendors,” Rutledge said. It’s very hard to get “economies of scale in the direct-to-consumer marketplace like we’ve gotten out of the historic business.” That certainly sounds like someone who’s ready to negotiate some new distribution partnerships.
Direct-to-consumer is industry jargon referring to how a streaming app bypasses the traditional distributors — flying directly past Charter and Comcast to the end user. So wouldn’t it be something if the winners of the streaming wars turned out to be none other than the cable companies? At the very least, remnants of their bundling model are sure to live on in streaming.
Tara Lachapelle is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the business of entertainment and telecommunications, as well as broader deals. She previously wrote an M&A column for Bloomberg News.
© Copyright 2023 Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved.


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July 2022 FOMC Minutes Update
The FOMC meeting minutes for July 2022 were released.
There were no surprises. The Fed Funds rate outlook seems pretty much intact for the year. There is nothing to indicate that the Fed will slow or increase in any big way the pace of hikes against what the market is already pricing in. They already anticipated inflation and growth to moderate in the coming quarters in line with the markets. And inflation did indeed come off as we now know after the July numbers were released this month. In fact, it came down more than expected. Growth, on the other hand, seemed to be holding up more than expected as evidenced by the latest retail sales figures. While certain sectors are seeing a slowdown in hiring, the overall labor market based on the latest payroll numbers still seems to be going strong.
For the Sep meeting, most members expected a 50bps hike. And given the lower-than-expected July inflation print, that tilted the Fed Funds rate expectations more convincingly towards 50bps. At the moment, 64.5% of the market participants are expecting 50bps as compared with 35.5% for 75bps. But as far as the year-end rate is concerned, the expected rate is 3.7%. That means probability-wise, we might be looking at a 50bps for Sep, 50bps for Nov and finally a 25bps for Dec.


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Sarasota-based company played major role in the sale of an $18 million coin collection
Sarasota-based Numismatic Guaranty Corp. has once again played a major role in the sale of a multi-million dollar coin collection.
This time the company authenticated and graded several Chinese coins that sold at the end of May for more than $18 million -- including two coins that sold for more than $1 million and a second that fell just under that mark.
This sale follows the $4.188 million sale of a more than 2,000-year-old Roman coin that commemorated the assassination of Julius Caesar. That coin was sold in October.
The most recent sales occurred at an the Champion Macau auction in Macau, China. The coins that NGC authenticated at the auction came from the Nelson Chang Collection with the most expensive coin fetching $1.34 million, more than four times its preauction estimated value.
That coin, minted in 1911 by Luigi Giorgi, is called the China YR 3 Silver Dollar Long Whiskered Dragon.
The other sale for more than $1 million was a China YR 33 Tael Chihili that was estimated to be valued between $200,000 and $400,000. It sold for $1.15 million.
The third coin to approach the $1 million mark was a 1898 Kiangnan Dollar that had an estimated value of $150,000 to $200,000.
The Nelson Chang Collection sale "set over 60 record prices for Chinese coins,” Michael Chou, president of champion auctions, said. “NGC’s expert certification and the confidence it provides were integral to this record-setting day.”


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“Forward march (or is it March?)!” is Neiman Marcus’s directive for spring 2022.
The luxury retailer has just released its spring campaign called Looking Forward, Forward Looking. The digitally led campaign features a series of videos, The Spring Book, digital and print advertising, social media content and in-store visuals.
According to the store’s press materials, the campaign’s theme “inspires customers to embrace tomorrow’s opportunities, the future of style and transformation of seasons. The campaign taps into the current cultural mindset, where customers are more than ever anticipating the joy of exploring and participating in all the new possibilities of spring.”
“We heard that many of our customers are ready to embrace spring and the fashion that comes with it, and we also saw many designers show collections on the runway that captured a sense of joy and optimism,” said Lana Todorovich, President and Chief Merchandising Officer, Neiman Marcus. “With the Looking Forward, Forward Looking campaign we capture this sense of optimism and are excited to bring our customers fashion-forward exclusives, new brands and retail experiences that will capture the mood and new take on glamorous, confident dressing this season.”
The campaign kicks off with The Art of Fashion men’s and women’s videos. Shot at the Mojave Desert’s Bristol Lake, the videos showcase the next wave of designer looks (such as Amiri, pictured above) and were directed by the Neiman Marcus in-house team.
Looking Forward, Forward Looking includes more than ten new and emerging labels as part of the 267 brands featured in the campaign across the women’s, men’s, children, home and beauty categories.
In March, Neiman Marcus will unveil its spring issue of The Book, which spotlights luxury designer brands alongside emerging talent and key must-haves for the season. Photographed by Emma Tempest, the covers feature looks from design houses Peter Do and Casablanca. Exclusive content includes a Q&A with Olivier Rousteing, creative director of Balmain, discussing the brand’s optimism for the season and the “New French Style” that influences the forthcoming collection. Additionally, Neiman Marcus Fashion and Lifestyle Director Lisa Aiken and Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman Men’s Fashion Director Bruce Pask share the season’s list of essentials and provide styling tips for spring.
Looking Forward, Forward Looking digital campaign stories and content, including designer Q&As and a feature on Women’s History Month, went live yesterday and will be online throughout the spring on Neiman Marcus’ Magazine.
Finally, in each Neiman Marcus store, the concept of Looking Forward, Forward Looking is brought to life through mylar displays that mimic the liquid-metal effect seen in The Art of Fashion videos.


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The new Renault Twingo will share up to 70% of its components with the Smart ForTwo and ForFour models that were presented during the Geneva Motor Show in early March. Even sharing parts, both vehicles will have no resemblance.
Nowadays automakers are prestaando attention on hybrid vehicles, even large companies like Porsche already has models with this technology, so the president of Toyota, said the sale of these vehicles tends to grow in coming years.
In the last days of 2013, Lamborghini released the first official pictures and information about Huracan, the Gallardo replacement. According to the manufacturer, since then, 700 orders have already been made by the model.


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The leading Russian internet company Mail.ru Group has announced its 2011 full-year financial results. Mail.ru Group reported total revenues of $515 million in 2011, up 59 percent from 2010, EBITDA of $283 million in 2011, up 137 percent from 2010, and net profit of $208 million in 2011, up 157 percent from 2010. Mail.ru Group is more profitable than than Yandex that reported net income of $179 million in 2011. Mail.ru Group profit margin is 40 percent vs. 29 percent profit margin of Yandex.
According to Dmitri Grishin, CEO of Mail.ru Group, its profit margin will grow to 50 percent in 2012. Mail.ru Group had cash of $154 million at the end of 2011. Perhaps, Mail.ru Group will use some of its cash to purchase one of the top Russian web startups to continue grow revenues at the same rates.
In 2011, Mail.ru Group‘s revenue split was as follows: Display advertising (29 percent), Contextual advertising (11 percent), MMO games (25 percent), Community IVAS (25 percent), and Others (recruiment, etc.) (10 percent).
Community IVAS or revenues from paid features and virtual items sold on Odnoklassniki and Moi Mir social networks, dating services and social games, were up 97 percent to $127 million. It’s the fastest-growing revenue segment for Mail.ru Group in 2011.
The monthly audience of Mail.Ru portal reached 30 million Russian users in December 2011, according to TNS Russia. The social network Odnoklassniki had 21 million monthly users, according to TNS Russia. The mobile instant messaging client software Mail.ru Agent had 23 million monthly users last December.
Mail.ru Group holds strategic minority equity stakes in social network VKontakte (39.99%) and instant payment provider Qiwi (21.35%) as well as small minority stakes in Facebook, Zynga and Groupon.
The Russian internet advertising market was valued at $1.4 billion in 2011, up 56 percent from 2010.


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— ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) reported earnings of $0.96 per share in the fourth-quarter 2019, vs. $0.87 per share expected.
— Total revenue rose 33% $951.8 million, vs. $941.2 million expected.
— In Q4, ServiceNow closed 76 transactions with over $1 million in net new annual contract value, up 49% YoY.
— For 1Q20, the company expects subscription revenues of $975 – $980 million, up 32% YoY. On an adjusted basis, subscription billings for this period is projected to be $1.042 – $1.047 billion, a growth of 29%.
— NOW stock ended its Wednesday’s trading session up 5.9%.
HP Inc has shown a strong performance in Q4 2021. In spite of remote working, HP has shown a strong demand for PC and printer. The company has beat Zacks
In this era of digital transformation, the technology industry is seeing a rapid influx of innovative products and solutions that help businesses adapt to the fast-changing and complex environment. VMware
After months of hectic activity, the IPO market experienced a lull in the Thanksgiving week, but it is still headed for a record year though the rush led by the


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It’s no surprise that the Nintendo Switch has been an incredibly well performing console — just getting your hands on one is still proving a difficult task. With a steady and powerful lineup of titles to bring the console to life, Nintendo seemingly cracked the formula required to bring their company back to the forefront of the gaming world. That’s why recent news of the Nintendo Switch becoming the fasting selling console in the history of the United States comes as such little surprise, but something very much worth celebrating.
Being home to two of the highest regarded video games of all time — The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, — the Nintendo Switch has been one of the hottest items available over the last 10 months since it’s initial release. With a total of 4.8 million sales, surpassing the previous record held by the Nintendo Wii at 4 million sales, there has been absolutely no signs of slowing down for the hybrid console.
Following the sales announcement, Nintendo of America went on to announce that amongst owners of the console, 60% own the latest Super Mario Odyssey, and 55% own The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Following those two titles, it’s been revealed that 50% have a copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and 20% own a copy of Splatoon 2. The company also went on to mention their 300 available titles, and massive support from the indie gaming community — not bad for a consoles first 10 months.
There’s something just so charming about the Nintendo Switch that I simply haven’t been able to put to words. Between it’s incredibly functional portability aspect, coupled with the ease of use at home, I’ve never felt so unrestricted by a console. I’ve been totally captivated within the worlds of both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Spelunker Party (both titles I picked up recently), and before that found endless amounts of enjoyment in both Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Mario Odyssey.
With the success found by the console, I can only hope it continues to receive incredible first and third party support, and that Nintendo runs just as strong in the year 2018.


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Vice President Kamala Harris chose an outfit for her historic Inauguration Day ceremony that made a statement: Her all-purple ensemble was created by Christopher John Rogers, a Black designer from Louisiana.
The Christopher John Rogers Instagram account posted a photo of Harris wearing the designer’s purple coat and dress.
“Thank you, Madam Vice President,” the caption read. “We are so honored and humbled to have played a small part in this historic moment.”
The vice president plans to wear clothes by Sergio Hudson, another Black designer, later on Inauguration Day, a representative for the brand told HuffPost.
Former first lady Michelle Obama wore a coat, sweater, belt and pants designed by Sergio Hudson to the ceremony on Wednesday morning.
Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, wore a suit designed by Ralph Lauren, Associated Press reporter Alexandra Jaffe tweeted, citing a Harris aide.
Harris is the first Black woman and South Asian American to be elected vice president in the U.S. Harris, a graduate of Howard University, is the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants.
The vice president also paid homage to Black designers on Tuesday evening, wearing a camel-colored Pyer Moss coat to a ceremony honoring the victims of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pyer Moss was founded by Kerby Jean-Raymond, a Black designer from Brooklyn, New York.


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25 Jun 2019.
Your initial $100 of bitcoin bought in 2011 is now worth $2053278.
for many, including the Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange.7 The attacks by hackers.
until late October, when the cryptocurrency started trading above $300 again.
5 May 2020.
The bitcoin index value for the end of April 2020 amounted to 166.22 U.S.
Afterwards a monthly price growth was observed until October 2013 when the price reached 198 U.S. dollars. This nearly.
Most expensive virtual currencies globally as of May 2020 (in U.S. dollars) +.
Starting from $468 / Year.
Over the weekend, Bitcoin collapsed by $1,300, even though there are about 10 hours left before the halving. The decline we.
Bitcoin Price (BTC). Price chart, trade volume, market cap, and more. Discover new cryptocurrencies to add to your portfolio. Skip to content. Prices. Products. Company. Earn crypto . up to $158. Sign in. Get started. Price charts Bitcoin price. Bitcoin price (BTC) Add to Watchlist. Market cap $ 160.3 B. Volume (24 hours) $ 58.1 B. Circulating supply 18.4 M BTC. All-time high $20,089. About.
Bitcoin can be a tempting investment when share prices are volatile, but I think buying cheap FTSE 100 shares is a better way.
29 Oct 2013.
A Norwegian man's $27 worth of bitcoins purchased in 2009 are now worth.
Koch found that his bitcoins were worth 5 million Norwegian kroner ($886,000) when he.
After purchasing the 5,000 bitcoins, Koch pretty much forgot about.
in April and he started seeing press coverage about bitcoin's rise.
17 Dec 2019.
Much has changed for the cryptocurrency since then beyond its price.
year for the digital currency, which had started 2017 at about $1,000.
of the time when they held Bitcoin for 10 days,” he wrote in an email on Monday.
But the Bitcoin story has so much more to it than just headline-grabbing pricing swings. It incorporates technology, currency, math, economics and social dynamics. It’s multifaceted, highly.
The Bitcoin price is seen trading nicely above the $8,800 and the coin must climb above the $9,000 resistance to reconfirm.
It depends on what sort of coin it is and how good a shape it is in. Here’s a good link to a website to get you started identifying your coin and finding out how much it’s worth.
Bitcoin’s historic halving event on Monday underscores that the “long-term future of cryptocurrencies is secure.
21/02/2018 · The History Of Bitcoin – The Facts. That being said, it’s not all speculation about the history of bitcoin; we do have some facts: 1) In 2008, someone, under the name of “Satoshi Nakamoto,” posted “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” to a cryptography mailing list. It was then, and through this mailing list, that Hal.
Buy both Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin Core (BTC) now using a credit or debit card. Get started with Bitcoin basics. Individuals, businesses, and developers: get the support you need with our simple guides. Learn the basics. Buy and sell Bitcoin with others. Join our Local Bitcoin Cash (BCH) marketplace to get the best margins on every trade.
26 Apr 2020.
How Much was Bitcoin Worth When it Started in 2009? When Bitcoin started out there wasn't really a price for it since no one was willing to buy.
14/03/2019 · At the very beginning, Bitcoin naturally started out quite slow. After the mining of the first Genesis block of Bitcoin in January 2010, it started taking baby steps. On 5th January, 2010, its first course towards exchange dollar was published at 1 USD being equal to 1309.03. Around this time, 1000 Bitcoins were trading at about 0.3S which pegs the price of each Bitcoin at 0.00003. In the same.
We believe the sudden correlation of Bitcoin to the US Stock Market trends are related to investor psychology and the.


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Newell Rubbermaid Inc. continues to close manufacturing plants, with the Jan. 22 announcement that it will shutter a 132-employee blow molding plant operated by its Little Tikes Co. business in Sebring, Ohio.
The 11-year-old plant will close by the end of March, Little Tikes communications manager Laurie Yingling said by phone Jan. 22. A ``small number'' of the Sebring jobs will be transferred to Little Tikes' headquarters and manufacturing site in Hudson, Ohio, she said.
``Global overcapacity within the toy industry has caused a competitive disadvantage in our business,'' Little Tikes President Clancy Lavins said in a news release. ``By consolidating our domestic manufacturing in the Hudson location, Little Tikes will achieve savings in overhead costs and increase our operational efficiency.''
The 320,000-square-foot Sebring plant makes parts for picnic tables and basketball sets, which are assembled in Hudson. Some equipment will be transferred from Sebring to Hudson, although Yingling said no decision has been made on the future of the site itself.
Transitional programs including severance packages, outplacement programs and on-site jobs fairs will be offered to Sebring employees.
The Sebring closing leaves Hudson as Little Tikes' only remaining North American production site. The firm closed plants last year in City of Industry, Calif., and Farmington, Mo. Little Tikes products also are made at Newell Rubbermaid facilities in Europe and South America.
Announcement of the Sebring closing comes little more than a month after Atlanta-based Newell Rubbermaid surprised the industry by confirming the closing of its 850-employee Rubbermaid Home Products plant in Wooster, Ohio. The Rubbermaid unit already had closed four plants in 2003 - in Cleburne, Texas; Greer, S.C.; Canton, Ohio; and Winfield, Kan.
Through the first nine months of 2003, Rubbermaid was the largest of Newell Rubbermaid's four units, with sales of more than $2.2 billion. Rubbermaid's nine-month sales total was 42 percent of Newell Rubbermaid's core sales and was more than 1 percent higher than in the same period in 2002. But its profit dropped more than 15 percent to $168 million in the same comparison.


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Taking place from 10 – 14 September 2018 at the Expo Centre in Nasrec, Johannesburg, Gauteng leading players in the mining, manufacturing, electrical and power industries are looking forward to engaging with visitors and sharing information on their latest products, services and solutions.
“There will be an exciting line-up of new products and services, live demonstrations and free-to-attend seminars at this year’s Electra Mining Africa and visitors will benefit from the insight and information they will gain,” says Gary Corin, Managing Director of Specialised Exhibitions Montgomery, organisers of the show.
“New technologies and innovation are influencing the way we do business and it’s imperative that those in the industry keep up-to-date with these trends.”
New at this year’s show, each day will focus on a different theme. Day one will centre on the future of skills development.
“Brand new at Electra Mining Africa this year is that each day will be themed differently. So we urge visitors to come all five days and experience all the themes. The first day, for example, focusses on the future of skills development. We are launching a brand new artisans training area in Hall 10 where we are going to focus on all the different training options that are available to artisans. We’re going to have competitions there and demonstrations. We really want to encourage the youth and the students to go into these fields as well and this is a great showcase,” says Charlene Hefer, Electra Mining Africa’s Event Director.
The Artisans Training Centre has been developed in partnership with The SAJ Competency Training Institute and the South African Equipment Export Council (SACEEC), and will be a fully functional workshop where learners will be demonstrating the skills that they learn at SAJ including boilermaking, welding, electrical, fitting, millwright, turning and CNC programming, tool, JIG and die making.
Hefer explained that on the second day, they will focus on all the brand new products that are being launched at Electra Mining Africa and says that “we want to celebrate these and will be highlighting a few of the top ones.”
“Day three is our proudly South African day. We want to celebrate that we are proudly South African and that we’ve been doing business here for 46 years and that we’ve got over 80% of local companies showcasing their products at the show. On the Thursday, we will put the spotlight on safety and on the last day, Friday, we will celebrate our diversity,” said Hefer.
Top industry speakers will present at the conferences hosted by leading industry associations SAIMM, LEEASA and WIMSA, which will be taking place alongside Electra Mining Africa. Further knowledge and learning will be central to the SAIMechE hosted daily free-to-attend seminars.
For further details visit www.electramining.co.za


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The 615,000 square foot Ollie’s Bargain Outlet distribution center in Princeton, a project that will create about 200 full-time jobs in the Illinois Valley, is making progress toward its 2024 opening.
A little more than five months after its groundbreaking, project leaders met Tuesday to celebrate a construction milestone.
Representatives from Ollie’s, Arco Design Build and the city of Princeton participated in a topping off ceremony, in which a steel beam is signed by project leaders before it is placed on the roof to signal the next phase of construction.
The facility is expected to be a large part of the company’s growth in the Midwest. The center will serve stores throughout Illinois and surrounding states.
We felt that this community was so much like our company. It made us feel like, we would eventually be hiring 200 people that already understood Ollie’s, had the Ollie’s values and would appreciate being a part of our company like we appreciate being a part of this community.”— Eric Van Der Valk, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Ollie's
Arco Design Build Director of Business Development Brian Devlin said that even from his first involvement with this project, Princeton stood out to Ollie’s as a potential future home.
“We did a four-day camel back ride through multiple states and met with every municipality, every utility company and every incentives company along the way,” Devlin said. “Obviously, you can see that Princeton was favored.”
Devlin said after meeting with City Clerk Pete Nelson, City Manager Theresa Wittenauer and Former Mayor Joel Quiram that it became clear to Ollie’s how proud the leaders and community was.
“We felt that this community was so much like our company,” Ollie’s EVP and COO Eric Van Der Valk said. “It made us feel like, we would eventually be hiring 200 people that already understood Ollie’s, had the Ollie’s values and would appreciate being a part of our company like we appreciate being a part of this community.”
Van Der Valk said his team couldn’t believe the progress that had been made on the building in only a few months and about a year after first announcing the partnership with Princeton.
“We say ‘America loves a bargain,’ so we are really happy to be here in the Midwest and have this distribution center to propel our growth in this area,” he said. “This DC will service 150 or more stores primarily in the Midwest.”
To construct the project, Ollie’s has invested $68 million into the project, a figure Van Der Valk said may increase as the project moves along.
“This is an amazing day for everyone that’s played a role in the Ollie’s Midwest expansion,” Ollie’s President and CEO John Swygert said. “Thank you all for your dedication to this project and your partnership, it means a lot to us.”
Swygert said Ollie’s celebrated its 40th anniversary last summer. Earlier in September, the company opened its ninth store in Illinois.
“I am so proud to stand here (Tuesday) and say that this week marks two more huge milestones for Ollie’s,” he said. “With the topping out of this distribution center and the opening of our 500th store (Wednesday) in Iowa City, and entering our 30th state. Pretty good for a company that started in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania in 1981.”
Mayor Ray Mabry spoke and thanked those in the city that played a large part in bringing Ollie’s to Princeton including Nelson, Wittenauer, Quiram and many others.
“We are honored and glad to have you here and we are glad to celebrate,” Mabry said.
Mabry also welcomed Ollie’s to Princeton with the presentation of an American flag that will be displayed in front of the distribution center upon its completion.
The eventual opening of the Princeton distribution center will help Ollie’s move toward its goal of more than 1,050 stores nationwide.


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It looks like bread. It tastes like bread. It smells like bread. But - according to the Irish Supreme Court, the food substance that Subway serves it's sandwich fillings in isn't legally bread - at least not by their countries definition.
It's called "Jalapeno Noir" - and it's joining an earlier branded beer from Taco Bell. That's right - the American-style Mexican fast food chain now has its own in-brand wine - specifically designed to pair with the chalupas on their menu in their Canadian locations.


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The Galaxy Note 9 is the best smartphone on the market, says Consumer Reports. In its test, the consumer association particularly appreciated the autonomy of the smartphone, its huge OLED screen, its double variable aperture photo sensor and its new S-Pen. Pending the test of the iPhone XS / XS Max, it is the best proposal on the market, says Consumer Reports.
“Thanks to its big battery and other features, the Galaxy Note 9 is the best smartphone we’ve tested”, announces the association. In April 2018, Consumer Reports already considered the Galaxy S9 as the best smartphone on the market, ahead of Apple’s iPhone X. Each year, Consumer Reports praises products designed by Samsung.
The Galaxy Note 9 is the best smartphone on the market … for the moment
Talking about the exceptional autonomy of the phablet, during testing, the phone held up to 29 hours without needing to be recharged. “All users will be able to spend a whole day without having to charge their smartphone” says Richard Fisco, smartphone test manager at Consumer Reports. To test the battery of a device, Consumer Reports leaves the smartphone in the hands of a robot, programmed to put its autonomy to the test.
Gizchina News of the week
After several drop tests, it turned out that the Galaxy Note 9 is much stronger than its predecessor, the Galaxy Note 8. Unsurprisingly, Consumer Reports has also fallen under the charms of the AMOLED infinity display of the Note 9. “Samsung’s technology produces deep blacks,” says the association. They added that the Galaxy Note 9 is equipped with the most innovative screen on the market .
Similarly, Note 9’s dual variable aperture sensor is among the best cameras of the year, the test adds. Consumer Reports highlights “its fast autofocus” and its “bokeh mode that works well” . This is shared by the experts at DxoMark, who consider Note 9 as the 3rd best photophone of the year . “The new S-Pen makes using a smartphone of this size even more intuitive and easy,” says Consumer Reports. The association really appreciated the features of the bluetooth stylus.
Note 9 will face stiff competition from the iPhone XS / XS Max, said Consumer Reports, which has not yet tested the new iPhone. Will the iPhone XS dethrone the latest Samsung flagship? What is your opinion?


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Apple in pictures
News about Apple
Interviews about Apple
As expected, Apple today released the second public beta of OS X Yosemite.
Apple is working its way toward releasing OS X Mountain Lion 10.9.5, very likely the last non-security update for the 10-month old operating system.
University and vendor researchers are congregating in San Diego this week at USENIX Security '14 to share the latest findings in security and privacy, and here are 5 that jumped out to me as being particularly interesting.
A petition started last year that urges Apple's CEO to recall older MacBook Pro laptops to fix a graphics problem has passed the 10,000-signature mark, part of an ongoing effort to get Apple to do something.
September is shaping up to be a very exciting month for smartphone buyers around the world: We know that Motorola Mobility, Microsoft, Sony and Samsung Electronics will all launch new smartphones, and it looks like Apple will join the party too. So what new devices are we looking forward to the most? Here's our countdown:
Sales of tablets bucked a three year growth trend by declining 28 per cent during the first half of 2014. The sales downturn was revealed by research firm Telsyte, which also noted Android tablets outsold Apple's iPad for the first time.
Apple released the sixth developer preview of OS X Yosemite today.
Apple's iPhone 5C, the lower-priced model introduced last year -- by many accounts to boost sales in countries like China -- has done poorly in the People's Republic.
Features about Apple
Bill Murphy, CTO and managing director at Blackstone, a global investment and advisory firm, knew he wanted to find a way to allow employees to use their own devices for work. The demand was there, and he was increasingly hearing about how adding in BYOD would help productivity.
In April of 1995, Steve Jobs, then head of NeXT Computer, was interviewed as part of the Computerworld Honors Program Oral History project. The wide-ranging interview was conducted by Daniel Morrow, executive director of the awards program.
ARN caught up with Symantec Pacific region vice-president and managing director, Craig Scroggie, during Symantec Partner Engage 2011 to talk about the security vendor’s channel strategy, partners specialising and the current security landscape.
Earlier this year, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak accepted the position of chief scientist at start-up solid state drive company Fusion-io. It's the first time since 1972, when he worked in Hewlett-Packard Co's calculator division, that he's held a technologist's position for a company that wasn't his own.
Do you love Microsoft Corp.'s recent TV ads? Hate its "Apple Tax" marketing campaign? Then meet Brad Brooks. As Microsoft's corporate vice president for Windows consumer product marketing, Brooks approved both campaigns as part of his goal of burnishing Windows 7's image in advance of its October launch (and tarnishing Apple's).
There may be big expectations for the wearables market, but the reality is that until someone transforms the category -- Apple's the usual suspect -- it won't break out of a very small constituency.
This may be anathema for someone in the business of writing about tech to say, but I'm not all that interested in iPhone rumors. Shipping products are what grab my attention, not unicorns and phantasms. The minute Tim Cook holds up the new device is the minute it's worthwhile to start examining features and specs, and all the speculation ahead of time is usually just the noise separating one Apple press event from the next.
It's been a long time since I had an iPhone. I've spent a few years wishing I had one again. But now that I do, I'm not as pleased as I expected to be.
Unless MIcrosoft radically changes its habits, it will throw Windows 8 down a deep memory hole even before a successor ships.
We take our smartphones everywhere, so it's no wonder that they end up in all manner of sorry states when we drop them, leave them in a taxi or plain old lose them. However, there are some extraordinary tales leading to some rather amusing insurance claims. Here are 15 of the best.
Apple announced it sold 13.3 million iPads in the second quarter, a year-over-year drop of 9%, the second straight quarter of declining numbers, and blamed a slowdown in developed markets.
The Apple-IBM partnership will have little effect on Microsoft's dominance in the enterprise, or drastically change its mutating mobile strategy.
The new Apple-IBM partnership seems sure to help Apple sell more iPads to businesses, but it may also be setting off alarm bells at mobile device management companies large and small.
- NIST taking input for mobile security guidelines
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- CISOs Can Combat APTs with a Bit of Preparation
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- Apple updates OS X Yosemite public beta
- FDA approves tech that turns smartphone into stroke warning system
- Sprint drops second shoe: $60 unlimited voice, text, data plan
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- View all events


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The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) will hold this year’s annual partnership meeting event online due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A statement confirming the decision ruled out the possibility of a physical meeting for the 2020 event scheduled for Bogota, Colombia, in November.
“After careful consideration of the international travel situation, WCF has decided to cancel the in-person Partnership Meeting scheduled on November 18-19 in Bogotá, Colombia. We are thrilled to share that we will instead be holding our first ever online Partnership Week, starting on November 16”, the WCF said.
The 2019 edition of the WCF annual partnership meeting was hosted by Berlin under the theme “Drivers Of Change”, and had about 300 c-level leaders across the global cocoa industry attending.
WCF is a global membership organisation for cocoa processors, chocolate manufacturers and other companies within the value chain.
- Statistical Data on Cocoa Production in Ghana Since 1948 - March 15, 2023
- Cocobod Committee Tasked to Boost Local Cocoa Consumption - February 28, 2023
- 15 Reasons You Should Make Cocoa Consumption A Lifestyle - February 9, 2023


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Man accused of selling heroin online faces federal charges
A Camby man suspected of selling heroin online under the alias “Supremesmoke” is facing federal charges.
Officials say Lee D. Gray, 40, used underground websites on the deep Web to move his product for more than a year. He was indicted Tuesday for drug trafficking and money laundering.
Gray faces up to 20 years in prison on each count if convicted.
His online drug business dates back to June 2014, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office. Using an underground website known as Black Bank, Gray sold gram quantities of heroin and accepted bitcoins as payment.
Investigators said Black Bank was designed to mask the identity of its users, and the site and is not accessible through traditional search engines.
“Heroin dealers cannot use the Internet to hide their illegal activity any longer,” U.S. Attorney Josh J. Minkler said in a statement. “Our investigators have some of the most innovative technology available to make certain our cyber world remains safe from drug trafficking.”
Gray’s “Supremesmoke” seller page on Black Bank featured photos of drugs alongside the asking price, officials said. Customers would choose the quantity and type of drug they wanted before placing an order transferring bitcoins to Gray’s account.
A typical order of 0.5 grams of heroin sold for $100 to $125 and did not include shipping, officials said. Gray offered express shipping for $25 to $30 if customers didn’t want their product sent first-class mail.
Gray used the U.S. Postal Service, Priority Express Mail parcels and standard sized envelopes to ship the drugs. Officials said he would often label the packages with Indianapolis-area return addresses for businesses that had no connection to him to hide the source of delivery.
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service takes very seriously its mission to deter the illegal use of the mails for any criminal activity,” Postal Inspector in Charge E.C. Woodson said in a statement. “These crimes negatively impact each and every community and household, and we stand committed to working together to identify, investigate and bring to justice those who would attempt to mask their criminal activity through the use of the mail thereby violating the sanctity of the seal.”
This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Metro Drug Task Force, Lawrence Police Department and the Indiana State Police.
Call Star reporter Justin L. Mack at (317) 444-6138. Follow him on Twitter:@justinlmack.


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THE NETHERLANDS: EU ban on Dutch livestock exports after foot and mouth confirmed
The EU has confirmed an export ban on livestock from the Netherlands, following the report that the country has confirmed its first cases of foot-and-mouth disease. Last week, the Netherlands became the second country on the European mainland to be hit by foot and mouth. Four cases of the highly contagious disease have now been uncovered and all farm animals living in the vicinity of the outbreaks will be destroyed in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus.
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Altice completes deal to buy Cablevision for $17.7B
Bethpage-based Cablevision officially has new ownership.
Executives from Altice announced Tuesday that the deal to buy Cablevision for $17.7 billion has been completed.
Altice's acquisitions of Cablevision and Missouri-based Suddenlink form "Altice USA," which is the fourth-largest cable company in the country.
Altice USA is the parent company of News 12 Long Island.


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The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has withdrawn its objections to an application from Apple seeking to trademark the iPad Mini name.
Looking to avoid copycatting, the tech giant tries to get the word "Glass" trademarked. But the US Trademark Office isn't convinced.
Apple's won a U.S. trademark for the iconic Mac boot chime some six months after applying for it with the USPTO.
The device maker filed for the trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week.
After years of lobbying, the tech hub is about to get a satellite patent office in its back yard.
So-called Steve Jobs patent reaffirmed after the Patent Office invalidated all 20 claims in the patent last December.
Agency's investigation will include questions about whether patent assertion entities coordinate their lawsuits, The New York Times reports.
A new study has found that more than half of last year's patent litigation cases in the U.S. were filed by companies that license patents but don't have another business.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office says the term "mini" is "merely descriptive" of goods or services sold in miniature form.


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Below the shifting landscape that debates the notion as to whether tariffs are a negotiating ploy or the real deal, some pig farmers are now operating at a loss of thousands of dollars per week (futures markets have priced in tariffs) and soybean growers are considering whether to reduce their plantings to avoid the same fate. Meanwhile the impact on our NAFTA partners is also being considered across the borders. Canada can increase their soybean and pork sales to China but the net impact will still be negative to them considering the magnitude of trade volumes. Mexico is expanding ties to China in an effort to mitigate the ‘Trump’ effect. All the while, the administration has to be aware that China holds the ultimate ‘trump’ card in the debt held. Some bearish views posit US interest rates could rise to 14% if China ceases their bond purchases.
With these headlines staring at us, it would be excusable to have missed some of the underlying news – one being in healthcare. Two of my companies made the news this past week with possible or rumored deals; Shire (SHPG) and Humana (HUM). Takeda’s interest in Shire has all the appearances of industry consolidation, Wal-Mart and Humana’s discussions are more along the lines of being one of the last gorillas.
In the comment thread (regarding GIS), Lily from The Rich Miser muses, ” I would think it makes sense to invest in some small niche food companies that are doing good and you believe in -assuming they’re publicly traded- in hopes that they would be bought by a larger one eventually, and one can make a nice profit!? Or buy the big one when it’s low and just leave it alone for a few years?“. This was the strategy I used with bank stocks following the financial crisis. The problem with this approach is identifying the right candidates or going broad – which is one reason my portfolio contains 204 companies. From a pure M&A perspective, owning the acquired company prior to the rumor or announcement gets you the merger premium – which can be sizable. But you better like the company as there is no guarantee in this strategy.
If the ‘last gorilla standing’ is a correct strategic assumption, ponder this with me. CVS has a deal with Aetna and Cigna with Express Scripts. AmerisourceBergen and Walgreens talks failed even though WBA already owns about 26% of ABC. Now Humana and Walmart are rumored to be talking. Why? Probably the Amazon effect. AMZN is talking healthcare with BRK-A and JPM. AMZN already holds licenses in some states for medical devices, perhaps a CAH/OMI merger is on the horizon since both like the device market? Or one (or both) with AMZN?
Of course this is all speculation – but somewhat logical. All I know for certain is there is ongoing disruption in this sector.


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‘It is a proud movement that our institution has been selected as host institute for MSME Idea Hackathon in J&K’: Prof. Sehgal
Srinagar: National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar’s Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship Development (IIED) Centre on Thursday launched MSME’s Idea Hackathon-2022 to invite ideas from innovators and students till March 24, 2022.
Director NIT Srinagar, Prof. Rakesh Sehgal said the prime objective of the scheme is to promote and support untapped creativity of individuals. It will also promote the adoption of latest technologies in manufacturing as well as knowledge-based innovative MSMEs, he said.
Prof. Sehgal said it is a proud movement that NIT Srinagar is the host institution for MSME Idea Hackathon-2022 in J&K and incubatees’ selected ideas will be provided funding support up to Rs. 15 lakhs per approved idea, to develop a prototype, he said.
Institute’s Registrar, Prof. Syed Kaiser Bukhari said Idea Hackathon is the endeavour of the Ministry of MSME to enable MSMEs to put on their thinking caps.
“To create innovative solutions while looking out for local solutions to the local problems, that could be the generation leap country’s needs, to transform its social, cultural and economic ecosystem into a world leader,” he said.
Head IIED Centre, Professor Saad Parvez said ideas in ‘MSME Idea Hackathon 2022’ are being invited from idea generators, students with great ideas, Innovators and MSMEs from all over J&K and incubatees’ selected ideas will be provided funding support up to Rs. 15 lakhs per approved idea.
He said mind to market is a journey for all start-ups and entrepreneurs. The IIED Centre is implementing Ministry of MSME initiatives for mentoring and supporting students, entrepreneurs, idea generators, innovators and local MSMEs (unit holders), to develop their ideas, establish economic units and enterprises for economic augmentation, Prof. Saad said.
He said earlier during the first phase, the institute had supported two ideas under incubation scheme and five ideas under design expertise scheme.
Prof. Saad said recently ministry of MSME has opened the second phase of Idea Hackathon-2022 under a modified scheme called “Champion Scheme” wherein any individual or MSME can apply for grants under incubation, design and IPR schemes.
“The main objective of the scheme is to promote and support untapped creativity of individual and MSMEs to promote adoption of latest technologies in manufacturing as well as knowledge-based innovative MSMEs,” he said.
Prof. Saad Parvez said any person as an individual or as MSME, having innovative ideas are eligible to avail the benefits of this scheme. The person should have an innovative and implementable idea which after converting into a prototype can further be converted into business activity. The person is being called Incubatee and there is no qualification bar to become incubatee, he said.
Head IIED, Prof Saad said “MSME should have valid Udyog Aadhar Memorandum (UAM) while individual should have Aadhar card number. The person (incubatee) should get attach to NIT Srinagar as the Host Institute (HI) for nurturing of his or her idea in Business incubator (BI) established at the Institute,” he said.
He further said NIT Srinagar has set up MSME (BI) in the campus and provides the space, equipment, lab and all the auxiliary support to the incubatee for nurture of his ideas for the business activities. Incubatees and eligible institutes of all states, UTs can take benefit of the scheme, he said.
As per the Ministry of MSME, financial support up to Rs. 15.00 lakh to HI for nurturin of an idea and this support will be given in two instalments of 70% and 30%.
“Financial support up to Rs. 1.00 cr. to HI for procurement of plant and machinery for BI to strengthen their technology-related R&D activities. This support will be given in two instalments of 50% each,” it said.
Similarly, financial support up to Rs. 1.00 cr to HI as Seed fund for converting deserving ideas into successful start-ups. The person (incubatee) should get attached with the HI for nurturing of his or her idea in a Business incubator (BI) being set up by HI.
“Financial support for all activities will be given to HI only and no funds can be transferred to incubatee’s account. Incubatee can get support from BI on all issues related to technology, innovation, mentor, plant & machinery required for nurturing of idea,” he said.
Prof. Saad said, if any facilities of plant & machinery which are essential for nurturing of idea and same are not available in HI/BI , then incubate can utilize the facilities of machines available in other places.
“Incubatee can utilize these facilities on a pay as usage basis through HI/BI only. Expenditure can be incurred on items essential for nurturing of idea like using plant & machinery, raw material, testing charges, marketing support, charges towards mentoring etc,” he said.
However, all such components should be mentioned in the proposals which need the approval of competent authority, Prof. Saad said.
After the initial scrutiny of ideas, IA will recommend them to National Monitoring and Implementation Unit (NMIU) New Delhi for final selection. A committee at NMIU will further examine and recommend eligible proposals to O/o DC (MSME) for the final approval of PMAC.
The status of the application/proposal can be seen on MIS and the outcome of the proposals will be communicated to the applicant through online MIS.
The scheme is valid till 25 March 2022. For any further assistance individuals or MSMEs can call Dr Saad Parvaiz Head IIED Centre (9797757234) or Er. Shahrukh Mushtaq, Incubation Manager, IIED Centre (7006486498).


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Google I/O 2022: How To Watch And What To Expect
Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed two months ago that this year's Google I/O event would be coming back live at the Shoreline Ampitheatre, and today is the day it is happening. The annual developer conference is a two-day event (May 11-12) that will be filled with keynotes, hardware announcements, software updates, and more.
Watch The Google I/O 2022 Livestream Right Here
Google I/O 2022 will begin with a keynote discussing how Google is "furthering our mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." That kicks off today, May 11, at 10:00am PT (1:00pm ET). This will be streamed live on Google's YouTube channel (embedded below), so don't worry if you're unable (or unwilling) to attend live.
You can also catch the livestream on the Google I/O 2022 homepage if you prefer, but feel free to stay right here with us—we're showered and smelling fresh this fine Wednesday afternoon. There will also be a developer keynote following the main Google keynote.
Google I/O 2022 Schedule And Agenda For Day 1
This is going to be a busy couple of days for Google. Here's a high level overview of the agenda for Days 1 and 2...
- Google I/O keynote (10:00am PT / 1:00pm ET)
- Developer keynote
- What's new in Android
- The cloud built for developers
- What's new in Firebase
- What's new in Flutter
- AI and machine learning for developers
- What's new for the web platform
- What's new in AR
- What's new in Google Play
- What's new in Chrome OS
- What's new in Google Home
- What's new in Google Pay
- What's new in Google Pay Passes
- Digittize your passes with the Google Pay API for passes
Day 2 (Starting at 9:00am PT / 12:00pm ET)
- A deep dive into optimizing LCP
- A Path to a world without passwords
- Adding machine learning to your developer toolbox
- Africa's booming developer ecosystem
- An introduction to MLOps with TFX
- Analytics and tools for Google Home projects
- Android solutions for seamless sign-in across devices
- App quality on Google Play: New features and developer success stories
- Asynchronous operations in your UI using Workflows and Firestore
- And more...
Google's Day 2 lineup is far too long for us to list here. Suffice to say, Google is squeezing as much as it can into this two-day event.
What To Expect At Google I/O 2022
Source: tagtech414 via Reddit
We anticipate a few hardware announcements at Google I/O, including the oft-leaked Pixel Watch. This will be Google's first homegrown wearable device, and in a recent leak, it garnered praise for its design and level of comfort.
This is expected to be more of a teaser though, and not a formal launch. If the rumors are right, Google will actually launch its Pixel Watch in October alongside the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. It's also been suggested the Pixel Watch will feature a rounded design, a proprietary connector for watch bands, and similar sensors as found on Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4. Google's expected to offer two size options and multiple different colors for the bands.
There have also been rumblings of a Pixel 6a being in the works. Oddly enough, Google may have tipped its hand in a coloring book that was sent out to its Pixel Superfans group. In the back of the coloring book, there's a reference to the Pixel 6a in the index, which doesn't appear in the online version of the same coloring book.
Rumor has it the Pixel 6a will feature a 6.2-inch OLED display, a 12.2MP main camera flanked by a 12MP ultra-wide sensor, an 8MP front camera, and the same Tensor chip as the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.
We could also see Google unveil a Pixel Buds Pro, and on the software front, more details about Android 13 (which is already available in beta form) are inevitable.


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Luxury brand Infiniti provided an additional dose of style at one of London's most eagely-awaited new fashion exhibitions, last night.
As official automotive partner to the event, Infiniti graced the west London streets with fleets of its models, ensuring VIPs arrived at the Victoria and Albert Museum in appropriately elegant fashion for the opening of a definitive retrospective of the work of Horst P Horst (1906-1999) one of the pre-eminent fashion and portrait photographers of the 20th century.
Regional director for Infiniti North Europe Steve Oliver said: "Infiniti is proud and pleased to be able to support the V&A over such a significant new exhibition."
"The exhibition celebrates sensuality, sophistication and seductiveness, qualities which are part of Infiniti's DNA. As Horst famously said, true elegance transcends mere fashion and that is something that applies equally to Infiniti design."
The German-born photographer's iconic images from the worlds of art, fashion, theatre and high society conjured up during a career that spanned 60 years.
Victora and Albert Museum director Martin Roth said: "Horst was one of the greatest photographers of fashion and society and produced some of the most famous and evocative images of the 20th century. This exhibition shines a light on all aspects of his long and distinguished career. Horst's legacy and influence, which has been seen in work by artists, designers and performers including Herb Ritts, Robert Mapplethorpe, Bruce Weber and Madonna, continues today."
by: Danielle Bagnall


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According to a report by Visiongain, the value of the global Augmented Reality market was approximately $11 million in Q1 of 2011 whilst Juniper Research estimated the market at the close of 2010 to be $15 million. Despite the discrepancy in figures there is no denying that the future is bright for Augmented Reality. With broadband penetration increasing and improvement in Smartphone feature specifications, the Augmented Reality market could zoom from now until 2015. In fact, Juniper Research is estimating the market will approach close to $15 billion by 2015.
Whilst its use has been a little slow out of the blocks, Augmented Reality is starting to gain some traction amongst the marketing community in Australia. In 2011 we have seen higher uptake of AR than ever before with big brands experimenting in the space. This article details 3 great examples of how AR has been used to integrate online and offline activities to deliver a richer brand experience.
Coopers Clear AR Instant Win Promotion
At the beginning of the year Coopers’ Brewery launched a ‘Coopers Clear Cut’ campaign to mark the 1st year anniversary of the Coopers Clear product and to drive incremental beer sales.
Coopers took the traditional FMCG instant win promotional concept and transformed it by branding cases of Coopers Clear with special Augmented Reality codes. Using either a micro site or iPhone to scan the code, buyers were able to view possible prizes that they could win, in 3D, including diamonds, Coopers Summer Packs, and BigPond music downloads.
Outcome: Coopers received nearly 20,000 entries into the competition of which over 7,000 were from the iPhone app! The app was downloaded in excess of 2,000 times with the remainder of entries coming via web.
CommBank Brings Ads To Life With AR
CommBank was one of early adopters of Augmented Reality through the launch of their property app. The app provides consumers with past sales history, current property listings and recent sales, all of which are mapped on to a real world view through the iPhone’s camera
To date the app has achieved strong uptake with over 100,000 downloads however as consumers are still relatively new to AR, CommBank needed a way to recruit more users! Enter more AR stage right!
In March this year, CommBank launched AR print advertisements in mX and News Ltd newspapers. Using the iPhone to trigger 3D animations of a virtual town, CommBank illustrated the features of their property app to entice more consumers to download the app.
According to Ikon the use of AR in print gave CommBank the opportunity to enhance awareness of the property app amongst the Bank’s wider consumer base through innovative use of press.
In 2011 Kia took its Australian Open partnership to the next level with its broadcast partner Channel 7, by combining Augmented Reality with television advertising!
Through the use of AR, KIA brought a 3D animation of the KIA Optima from the television screen to a user’s mobile phone, enabling consumers to experience the cars features in a fun and interactive way!
Outcomes; The app received strong take up with over 11,000 iPhone downloads and over 5,000 downloads on Android devices.


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Washington — College students and their families are expected to collectively spend more than $47 billion this back-to-school season, with individual students and their parents each spending a combined average of $956.93 up from $880.52 last year, according to the National Retail Federation’ (NRF) 2007 Consumer Intentions and Actions survey.
The survey, performed by BIGresearch, found that students and their families can be expected to spend a total of $12.8 billion on electronics. Other product categories expected to draw significant chunks of the $47 billion include clothing and accessories ($7.41 billion up from last year’s $5.78 billion), shoes ($2.96 billion), school supplies ($3.14 billion) and textbooks (over $15 billion.)
As for where this money will be spent, the survey found that 57.2 percent of students and their families will shop at college bookstores, 51.5 percent will shop at discount stores, 41.8 percent will visit department stores, 35.6 percent will go to office supply stores, 34.3 percent will buy from clothing stores and 20.9 percent will visit electronics stores. The survey also found that nearly one-third of consumers will shop online.
Students living on campus are expected to spend $1,529.45 on college merchandise as opposed to students living off campus and at home who will spend $1161.98 and $774.86 respectively.
Nearly half of those polled (49.7 percent) said they would be living at home during the school year. 28.6 percent plan to live in off-campus housing, 18.7 percent will live in a dormitory or other form of on-campus housing, and 1.3 percent said they will live in a fraternity or sorority house.
Freshmen are likely to spend an average of $1,193.60 on college-related merchandise this year, more than any upper-class group. According to NRF, sophomores are expected to spend an average of $748.29, the least of any class.


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Winnipeg Police are advising Winnipeggers to be exercise extra caution after three elderly women had their money and property stolen after being distracted by thieves in separate incidents recently.
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In each case, the victims were shopping at locations on Regent Avenue and McPhillips Street. All of the occurrences involve persistent attempts to distract the victims, resulting in property theft.
Police do not believe the same suspects were involved in the robberies.
“Right now, it just seems that the victims have something in common as all being women,” said police spokesperson Const. Claude Chancy. “As far as the perpetrators of these acts, at this time these investigations are only in their beginning stages and there is no correlation as far as we know at this time.”
On Friday, the first victim, a woman in her 70s, was approached by a male while shopping on Regent Avenue. The victim was intentionally distracted, and her wallet was stolen from her shopping cart. Her bank account was later accessed, but the transaction was denied.
On the same date, the second victim, also a woman in her 70s, was approached by two males in the parking lot of a grocery store on McPhillips Street. The victim was distracted by being told that her vehicle was on fire. While the victim investigated the non-existent fire, the second male took the opportunity to steal her wallet containing money and a debit card. Her account was later accessed, but the transaction was unsuccessful.
The following day, a third victim, a woman in her 60s, was approached on two separate occasions, once inside a different grocery store on McPhillips street and subsequently in the parking lot while she was placing groceries in her vehicle. The lone male distracted her and was able to steal a cellular phone.
“In all three of these incidents, there were no injuries,” said Chancy. “However, it is important to note that the thefts are being carried out after persistent attempts to distract the victims.”
In each instance, the victims and suspects were not known to each other, police said.
“Whenever you’re approached by somebody that is striking up a conversation, it’s not necessarily a bad thing,” said Chancy. “However if someone comes up to you asking persistent questions that aren’t relevant to you, that may be a warning sign that something might not be on the up and up.”
The public is reminded to be aware of their surroundings at all times, especially when being approached by strangers.
Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call 204-986-6222 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).


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Blade Strangers is here and it's a surprisingly fun fighting game that veterans of the genre and newcomers will have a great time with.
Blade Strangers, Nicalis' upcoming two-dimension fighter coming to the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4, gets a release date.
Nicalis presented a bit over five minutes of its upcoming crossover fighting game Blade Strangers, starring Shovel Knight and more.
Indie-crossover arcade-style brawler Blade Strangers brings us a new look at the characters and action with an extended cinematic opening trailer.
Nicalis has announced Crystal Crisis for the Nintendo Switch, a crossover puzzle-fighting game that features characters from several Nicalis series.
Nicalis, Inc. has recently confirmed that Inti Creates' youthful hero, Gunvolt is making an appearance in the upcoming 2D fighting title Blade Strangers.
Announced nearly a year ago, Blade Strangers is finally revealed to have an estimated release time-frame for sometime during this summer.
Blade Strangers brings the world of anime fighters to everyone. With a simple control scheme and large cast of noteworthy characters, we take a look at what the game has to offer.
Nicalis unveiled their E3 2017 lineup with The End is Nigh, Tiny Barbarian DX, Ittle Dew 2+. and Blade Strangers which are all coming to the Switch.
Nicalis appeared on the Twitch channel Sunday evening to announce they will be bringing the Studio Saizensen developed 2D fighter Blade Strangers to PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC in the west.


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Klarna – Our way to pay is healthier than a credit card
Industry News | 20/09/20
The buy now, pay later giant Klarna has welcomed an investigation into its business model, claiming that it is a “healthier alternative to credit cards”.
The Financial Conduct Authority, the City regulator, has written to deferred payment companies such as Klarna, Clearpay and Laybuy, asking for meetings to assess the possible risks to consumers as part of a probe into unregulated credit.
Source: The Times
GO TO WEBSITE +


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Alba Barrionuevo.- Facebook has announced a new pilot project which pretends to bring free online education to Ruanda. The initiative, called SocialEDU and that wants to be a referent for further operations, was presented around Internet.org, a project which intention is that the Internet access is available for anyone around the world. This new programme’s objective is to provide a quality education to Ruanda inhabitants through an app designed by Facebook, taking as reference the success of massive courses on the Internet that permit offering a high quality and accessible education.
SocialEDU will come hand in hand with Nokia, which will offer hardware help by putting smartphones at the users’ reach, together with Airtel and Ruanda’s Government that will provide the data supply and financing, respectively. With all this, Airtel has marked the boundaries of a year of free Internet to the programme’s benefiters, for which the extents of this initiative are not yet clear. Furthermore, classes will be fruit of collaboration with edX universities’ aggrupation, which includes prestigious centres such as Harvard.
As Facebook Newsroom announces, the app will come integrated to Facebook, for which any student who wants to form part of this programme will have to create an account on the renowned social network to gain access to classes.
Translated by Clàudia Arqués


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August 25, 2012 by esarsea
Gag me with a Duck.
The Seattle Seahawks have entered the 2012 football season with new uniforms designed by Nike…the same company that gave us the garish clown suits worn by the University of Oregon Ducks (more examples here, here and here).
Oregon has used Nike’s abstract and perverted view of athletic uniforms ever since Nike’s founder Phil Knight started donating millions of dollars to the university. That’s fine. After all, Knight graduated from Oregon – and the Ducks are certainly welcome to prostrate themselves to this alumni’s money – regardless of Nike’s long-standing history of using ‘sweatshops” to manufacture their overpriced products.
The University of Oregon did manage to dislodge Nike’s finger from their rectum when they joined the Worker’s Rights Cortsortium, a labor rights monitoring organization, back in 2000. Nike’s response? They revoked a $30 million donation to the university because the WRC had a history of being unfriendly to shoe companies. Nice.
But I digress…
Somehow, Nike’s visual adulteration has managed to breach the Columbia River and infect it’s neighbors to the North.
Nice touch to highlight Nike’s logo (half of Salvador Dali’s moustache) so prominently. Nike took over the NFL uniform contract this year so we’ll be seeing the “swoosh” everywhere.
If we had to get new uniforms, I would have much prefered the following design – a color scheme similar to our original uniforms (and one of many styles that were rumored to have been under consideration):


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Last updated on April 21st, 2022 at 04:41 pm
Diane Cleven has had “the most lucky career in the world.” The VP of deli/CMS/sushi/bakery at The Fresh Market came to the company about 22 years ago, when owner Ray Berry and his son persuaded her to leave the specialty distributor for which she was working.
Cleven joined The Fresh Market because she “fell in love with the integrity that the family had.” The decision led her to expand her knowledge of the business, especially in perishables, as she continued to advance through the company. She was brought in to handle grocery, but other departments – dairy, floral and gift center – were gradually added. A couple of years later, the deli department joined her duties.
Cleven said The Fresh Market CEO Jason Potter surprised her with the concept for the remodel of the company’s original store on Lawndale Drive in Greensboro, North Carolina. While the company was doing well with its prepared foods, she said it could only do so much.
“I think we did a lot with what we had, but you can’t go to the next level until we did what we did here [Greensboro] at our Lawndale store,” Cleven said.
Potter hired a consulting group that brought in a team whose specialties were hotels and restaurants.
“They brought this restaurant concept, which is what we wanted. We worked in conjunction with the consulting chef to develop the menu for us. And then we did tastings,” Cleven said.
There was a good bit of back and forth. And after working on recipes with the consulting chef, The Fresh Market team started developing their own, also.
“We have a corporate chef here, Jarrod Craft,” Cleven said. “He’s very good. We started doing our own ideas. It was super challenging during COVID because we didn’t have an office to work out of.”
Cleven said the company’s smoker “actually lived in my driveway for eight months.” One of the chefs they were working with had a food truck, which also spent time in her driveway. They found an unused bakery facility in town, whose owner was going to shut it down. Cleven said they were allowed to use the facility at no charge. This afforded them kitchen space and a couple of offices.
“There were multiple tastings throughout the process,” she said of developing the menu.
Currently, the menu for The Square is 70 percent from the consulting chef and 30 percent in-house, Cleven said, though that is changing. The company will be simplifying the Made to Order sandwich and salad stations. The menus will be made to be “more pick your protein, pick your base, pick your toppings.”
Getting the balance right is important. “You have to have a chicken, you have to have a beef, you have to have a vegetarian, you have to have some spicy – that’s the credo of fast casual,” Cleven said.
Making it better
The Fresh Market is all about excellence and the items on The Square’s menu are created to attain that level. Next to the popular barbecue choices, the second busiest station on The Square is biscuits, Cleven said.
“I was in there yesterday morning and a customer came in with his son. He said, ‘We stop by every morning on my way to drop my son at school, and this is the best biscuit in town,’” Cleven said. “I wanted to hug him.”
She said that’s why points of differentiation are important.
“Everybody’s got a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit, but we do it better at The Fresh Market,” she said, noting it features candied bacon. “And for the sausage biscuit, it’s the same sausage that we make in our meat department.”
Ensuring a stable staffing level for The Square has been a priority.
“We needed to make sure that they can execute, which has been a challenge with COVID and turnover and then [winter] weather in January,” Cleven said. “We feel like we’re in a position now to really start going heavy on marketing and getting the stories out there because we can consistently execute.”
Addressing the store opening in April in Palm Beach Gardens, Cleven said it will follow the new concept in everything except biscuits. “We felt that the South Florida market is probably not biscuit driven.” She said the company will take elements from the concept pilot store and put them into other stores as they open, where the team feels they are right “based on the pro forma for that location.”
Cleven said The Fresh Market is investing heavily in the new concept. “We feel like it’s our future.”
Holiday meals continue to grow
In addition to her input on the new concept, Cleven also is responsible for The Fresh Market’s holiday meal program. She said she created the first Thanksgiving dinner when she took over the deli department in 2004.
That first holiday meal came together “last minute,” and there was “a lot of learning on that one, too. And we were just blown away by how well it did.” At that time, The Fresh Market had 25 stores and sold nearly 1,000 meals. In 2021, The Fresh Market sold 46,000 Thanksgiving meals.
Following that success, Cleven developed meals for Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter. She said they listened to The Fresh Market’s guests and developed smaller meals for smaller families, then also added a deluxe meal.
“We just listen to our guests and try to figure out what they want,” Cleven said. “It has to taste good. I would never sell in our stores what I wouldn’t serve my family or eat myself.”
For more information, visit thefreshmarket.com.
To view the full section on The Fresh Market from The Shelby Report, click here.


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Politico has launched its iPad application, joining a growing list of news publications to refashion their content for Apple’s tablet device.
The Washington D.C.-based political news publication quietly launched the app last Friday, and was advertising the program Monday afternoon on its Website. The app sports three pages of headlines from Politico, but—other than font-size choosing and social-media sharing—offers few additional features for users.
Other national publications—such as the Washington Post and New York Times—have promised to start charging subscription fees for their iPad apps after the turn of the year, but there was little initial indication how Politico plans to make money from its app. As of Monday afternoon, a Shell oil company logo appeared on each page of the app, and users were treated to full-page interstitial ads from the company after tapping on story headlines.
Then again, the all-politics-all-the-time publication may have more of a nose for “new media” than its print-bound counterparts: Politico started in 2007 as a Web-only publication and only later migrated to print—every day when Congress is in session, once-a-week otherwise. Politico’s parent company, Allbritton Communications, also recently launched TBD.com, a “hyperlocal” site in Washington D.C.
Politico for iPad is free, and compatible with any iPad running iOS 3.2 or later.


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Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
We’re checking in with a different Saskatchewan artist each week to talk about their life and work during COVID-19. This week we hear from Shawn Toovey, a Saskatoon nurse working at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic and creating artwork out of “upcycled” pieces of medical plastic, like syringe caps and pill bottle lids.
Toovey’s art has struck a chord during the pandemic, catching the attention of the country and welcoming commissions for new…


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The chocolate firm's drumming gorilla advert was named the best in the world at an annual ceremony last year and has been followed by films featuring airport trucks and dancing eyebrows.
The new film, which sees the head raining cocoa pods as it passes through the village, promotes the company's move to Fairtrade chocolate for Dairy Milk bars.
It also sees the company branching out into the music business. Makers of the advert worked with Ghanaian superstar Tinny to produce the track Zingolo, which is also being released as a single.
A 60-second version of the advert will be aired for the first time tomorrow during ITV1's X Factor, and the track will be available on iTunes.
The film was made in Ghana, source of the Fairtrade cocoa which is used in Dairy Milk, and features some of the farmers which grow it.
Cadbury marketing director Phil Rumbol said: ''We were inspired by Ghana's love of music so it seemed the perfect way to capture the spirit of the country was through a track. We hope we'll bring a smile to people's faces.''
Profits from the sale of the single will go towards funding education projects in cocoa-growing areas of Ghana.


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NEW DELHI | MUMBAI: Reckitt Benckiser (RB), maker of Dettol soaps, posted muted 6% growth to record sales of RS 4,368 crore for FY15, according to Registrar of Companies (RoC) filings. Analysts said the full impact of the Swachch Bharat campaign could kick in over the longer term.
“Reckitt Benckiser has definitely been at the forefront of Swachh Bharat and has been capitalising on the movement. But accelerating growth won’t be easy because of multiple reasons. The past one year has seen heightened competition from HUL on Swachh Bharat and ITC has been increasing spends on Savlon, which directly competes with Dettol.
Then there’s been a rural slowdown. The real gains from Swachh Bharat could come in the longer term,” said Abneesh Roy, associate director at Edelweiss Securities. RB has been leveraging the government's Swachh Bharat initiative, tying it with its own five-year Rs 100-crore Banega Swachh India campaign, indirectly pushing sales of its Dettol antiseptic and disinfectant cleaners Lizol and Harpic.
The firm has launched a series of Dettol brand variants at entry-level prices to push volumes, especially in tier II and tier III towns. RB, which sells mainly urban-centric products such as AirWick air freshener, Veet hair remover and Vanish stain remover, has introduced smaller unit packs for most of these brands to drive up consumption among first-time consumers.
Last year, RB Plc had revised its net revenue and profit margin targets globally after reporting a10% increase in net profit for the first half ended June, and mentioned India as showing “improved consumer sentiment”.
"The total estimated sales of smartphones for the year are revised at 128 million units, against the earlier estimates of 127 million released in June. Flipkart and Amazon estimated to sell 15 million smartphones during the festive sales period, which is 36.58 per cent of the total estimated sales for the October-December quarter," the report said.
In a letter to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said, "We are of the considered opinion that direct selling is an integral part of the retail trade like other verticals including big retail, small retail, e-commerce and self employed groups."


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Portable generators, sold by Champion Power Equipment, are being recalled for a fire hazard.
A fuel leak from the generator's carburetor can be the source of a fire hazard. There have been 11 reports of fuel leaks, including eights reports of the generators catching fire.
The recall includes two models of Champion Power Equipment generators that were sold exclusively at Costco, model numbers 41332 and model number 41532. The generators were sold at Costco Stores nationwide from December 2011 through July 2012 for approximately $699.
Consumers are urged to stop using the recalled generators immediately and contact Champion Power Equipment for a free repair kit. Consumers can also return the units to Costco for a full refund.


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As we step into a brand-new year, it’s the perfect time to shed light on the positive changes awaiting those considering solar installations. The solar industry has been thriving, not just for its environmental benefits but also for the financial incentives it offers. Let us delve into the exciting world of solar tax credits and incentives awaiting homeowners and businesses in the new year.
A Fresh Start with Updated Solar Tax Credits
One of the most anticipated aspects of the new year is the update on solar tax credits. Governments often revisit and revise their policies, and 2024 is no exception. Homeowners and businesses exploring solar solutions will be pleased to discover the financial benefits offered by tax credits. These incentives can significantly reduce the upfront costs associated with solar panel installations.
In the United States, the federal solar investment tax credit (ITC) has been a major driver of solar adoption. Currently the Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) offers a 30% tax credit for systems installed through 2032. Meanwhile, the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) offers a long-term incentive program that pays out based on your solar production.
While federal incentives are crucial, many states offer additional incentives to promote solar energy adoption. These can include rebates, tax credits, or performance-based incentives. As we enter the new year, it’s essential for potential solar adopters to investigate the specific incentives available in their region. State-level programs often complement federal incentives, providing an extra financial push towards sustainable energy solutions.
Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs)
In certain regions, Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) play a vital role in supporting solar energy. These credits are earned based on the amount of solar energy generated and can be sold to utilities or other entities seeking to meet renewable energy requirements. The value of SRECs can fluctuate, so staying informed about the current market conditions is key to maximizing their benefits.
Residential Solar Financing Options
Apart from tax credits and incentives, various financing options have emerged to make solar installations more accessible. In the new year, homeowners can explore innovative financing models such as solar leases, power purchase agreements (PPAs), or energy-efficient mortgages. These alternatives can help distribute the financial burden and make the transition to solar energy more feasible for a broader audience.
A Greener Bottom Line for Businesses
Businesses looking to make a sustainable impact in 2024 can leverage solar tax credits and incentives to improve their environmental footprint and financial bottom line simultaneously. Federal tax incentives, combined with potential state-level programs, make solar investments an attractive option for businesses aiming to reduce operational costs and enhance their corporate social responsibility.
Conclusion: Embracing a Solar-Powered Future
As we embrace the new year, the landscape for solar tax credits and incentives presents a promising picture for those considering a switch to solar energy. The financial benefits, coupled with the positive environmental impact, create a compelling case for individuals and businesses alike. Before embarking on the solar journey, it’s crucial to research and stay informed about the latest incentives and programs available in your area. The future is bright, and solar energy is not only illuminating our homes and businesses but also paving the way for a sustainable and eco-friendly tomorrow.
By combining Neeeco’s solar savings with the savings from our Mass Save rebates and incentives on home improvements, you can significantly reduce your monthly energy bills. Give us a call today to learn more!